Avoid Petroleum and Mineral Oil in Your Skincare Products Like the Plague!

Do you ever think about what you are putting on your skin?

Truth be told, I never did, until I had to…

Most people shop for their skin care based on packaging, advertising, or out of habit from what they’ve always used, but they rarely actually think about what they’re buying or what they are putting on their skin. Believe me, I’ll be the first to admit guilt. I used to be like a cat with a shiny object, going for the prettiest package that I was drawn to because I really didn’t have a clue otherwise. When comparing labels, they all looked pretty much the same to me. So, no judgement from me at all. But, before we dive into the controversial subject of mineral oil which is contained in a lot of those pretty products, let’s take a quick minute here to break things down.

Why you should avoid petroleum and mineral oil

in your skincare products like the plague!

Our skin is our largest organ and it serves a very important duo of functions—to breathe in oxygen and to release toxins. You might’ve heard that certain chemicals and toxic ingredients that are probably in your skin care are harmful if ingested, but they can’t penetrate your skin, so you have nothing to worry about. That’s not necessarily true. Mineral oil is a great example.

Okay, so that now brings us to mineral oil, which you might recognize as petroleum jelly (Vaseline)… It can show up on ingredients labels as mineral oil, petrolatum, liquid paraffin and paraffin oil. Regardless of what it’s called, there is a raging debate out there about this stuff. Some will tell you to avoid it like the plague (I’m one of those people!) while others swear by it. So, let’s talk about it and really, why you want to avoid it. To be honest, I didn’t know all that much about it until I started researching what ingredients we would and would not be using in Kudarat’s products. Once I knew enough about it, the decision to not use it was simple.

However, mineral oil is used in many, many personal care products in the USA. This includes everything from face moisturizers to body lotions and everything in-between. Did you know that baby oil, for example, is made entirely of mineral oil?! It is commonly the number one most-used ingredient by volume besides water. Check your labels.

The Kudarat Skincare Line is 100% All Natural and Gluten-Free

Mineral oil (also listed as petroleum, petrolatum, paraffin) is used in almost all products in the USA. It is the #1 most-used ingredient besides water. Mineral oil is a bi-product of the petroleum refining process—basically, it’s crude oil that has been refined about 7 times. Because the FDA doesn’t really do much to regulate the skin-care industry, oil refineries realized it’s more profitable to sell this waste product to cosmetic companies to be used as a cheap filler, instead of disposing of it. Because it is so highly toxic, the EPA has strict guidelines on how to dispose of it!

Here are a bunch of reasons why you shouldn’t let mineral oil anywhere near your skin:

1. Mineral oil can’t be metabolized and is stored in our fat cells. A 2001 study published in the Women’s Journal of Health reported that “there is strong evidence that mineral hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body”. The authors concluded that “cosmetics might be a relevant source of the contamination”. Eek! What this means is that this toxin gets into our bodies and doesn’t leave. I’m thinking about preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

2. Mineral oil masks itself as estrogen. This can cause estrogen dominance and that can lead to side effects such as depression, weight gain, thyroid problems, allergies, autoimmune disorders and maybe even breast cancer. It is also associated with accelerating the aging process. I have been through all of this (except it was ovarian and not breast cancer). It’s not nice and I wouldn’t want you to do anything that could cause you this kind of harm.

3. Mineral oil is thesecond leading cause of aging behind sun over-exposure! Cell renewal is slowed, collagen breaks down and connective tissue is destroyed. Even if the products you are using on your face contain some juicy beneficial anti-aging ingredients, if you’ve got mineral oil in the mix, those ingredients cannot do their job because mineral oil doesn’t allow absorption. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my skincare actually making me look older!

4. Mineral oil doesn’t let your skin breathe. It is an “occlusive” agent which means it seals the skin off from anything getting in or out. In other words, it’s like wrapping your body in plastic wrap—your pores become blocked. So, if you are even slightly acne-prone, the alarm bells should be going off about now. Blocked pores means that dirt will be trapped and that leads to acne on your face and your body. Oh, and never put this stuff on sunburn! It will make the burn worse because it locks in the heat and can cause permanent scarring.

5. Last but not least, mineral oil might be carcinogenic. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that moisturizers containing mineral oil might have something to do with the increase of sunlight induced cancers in the United States. The results of their study indicates that “several commercially available moisturizing creams increase the rate and formation of tumors when topically applied to UVB-pretreated high-risk mice”. Yes, more research needs to be done, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

Unfortunately, the incorporation of mineral oil in so many products has more to do with cost than benefit. So, instead of slathering yourself with mineral oil, I recommend products that contain natural oils such as sweet almond, coconut, or jojoba oils and shea butter.

So, what do you think? Are you going to throw away your skincare products that have mineral oil in them? Let us know and I’ll send you a 10% OFF coupon that you can use towards Kudarat’s amazing line of skincare productsthat are good for you.